Improving the U.S. educational system, increasing federal funding for research and development and enacting high-skilled worker visa reform are among the recommendations of the nation’s largest technology trade association for the country to keep its competitive edge with foreign nations. The AeA made the recommendations in a report released March 28 as a follow up to a study from 2005 that the U.S. risked squandering its preeminence in science, technology and innovation. The organization is calling on Congress to pass legislation to advance U.S. competitiveness. Locally, the high tech community needs to get more involved with the issue, said AeA Los Angeles chapter Executive Director JoElla Lapiana. Education is core to how the AeA wants the nation to stay competitive. The study recommends recruiting more science and math teachers by offering 4-year scholarships; strengthening skills of 250,000 teachers in advanced degree and advanced placement programs; and increasing the number of students taking advanced placement and international baccalaureate math and science courses. The Los Angeles chapter, based in Woodland Hills, has been trying to get its Hands on Technology program off the ground for the past two years but lacks the resources, Lapiana said. The program’s goal is to have technology professionals promote science and math careers to students in the 4th through 8th grades.